


Hard Liquor

by cranialaccessory



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Discussion of canonical character death, Drinking, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2016-05-14
Packaged: 2018-06-08 07:45:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6845668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cranialaccessory/pseuds/cranialaccessory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You’re too kind,” Shepard said.</p>
<p>“Not really.” Aria said.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hard Liquor

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this and forgot to post it after I discovered the easter egg that if you drink too much at purgatory, you black out and wake up next to Aria on the couch. Plot spoilers for the whole series.

At first, Shepard thought she was waking on the battlefield. But there's something soft beneath her body, and for all the pounding noise there's no radio chatter, no screaming, and no familiar weight of guns hanging on her back. Her head feels like she may have matched Garrus with a rocket to the face, though. Gingerly, she opens her eyes.

"Shepard," Aria T'Loak said, dry as a bone. They're in Purgatory, Shepard realized, and the rest of the night comes back to her in a dizzying rush.  
"What time is it?" Shepard said, forcing herself upright. She had gone straight from Huerta to the bar, but anything could've happened in the time she was out, literally anything. She started pulling up her omnitool.

"You've been out for about an hour," Aria said. "And no one's pinged you. I know, I also find it hard to believe that your crew could make it a whole hour without you, but they seem to have managed it.”

Shepard relaxed against the couch cushion. With the state of utter destruction her life was in, it was a relief to know that at least no new tragedy had occurred. Still, that was no excuse for going out and getting smashed like a teenager. She'd had a couple drinks already (one for Mordin, one for Thane,) when she'd found Cortez, and then it was one for his husband, one for Kelly, one for Kaidan (not as long ago as it seems, sometimes) one for every civilian on the citadel whose body she'd walked past, one for the people dying on Earth and Palaven and Tuchanka too quickly to be mourned. And with the implants, it took a lot of drinking to feel the effects. It had seemed prudent to be proactive.

"I'm sorry," Shepard said. "I don't usually -"

"Was your mother buff, angry, and blue, Shepard?" Aria cut in. "If not, I don't understand how you could possibly mistake me for her." 

Shepard breathed a laugh. The implants really where something, the warm fuzz of alcohol was already receding. What a waste. “Well, thanks for the help anyways.”

Aria rolled her eyes, prepared to say something cutting, no doubt, so Shepard continued. “I assume I didn’t come over to you by myself. Even when I’m blackout, I’m not suicidal.”

"It wouldn't be in anyone's best interests for the galaxy's last, best hope to be seen sprawled out on the dance floor."

“You’re too kind,” Shepard said, and levered herself to her feet. She’d spent too much time here already.

“Not really.” Aria said. 

“Aria,” Shepard started, and paused. Some days it felt like every drop of diplomacy had been wrung out of her, in the high-stakes negotiations that had become her life. “If you ever need anything, well, not anything criminal, but - “

“For fuck’s sake, Shepard, you can’t actually be looking for more responsibility to take on,” Aria said. “I’m not one of your strays, I have been running a criminal empire for centuries-”

“Look, I didn’t-“

“I’ve been in this business since before your planet had electricity-“

“Point taken.”

“The fact that we’re relying on your species at all is like asking a toddler for help engineering a mass relay.”

“I understand.” Shepard raised her hands in defeat, turned towards the door.“I was just thinking about Omega…”

“Get out of here, Shepard." Aria narrowed her eyes. "And don’t worry about saving the damn galaxy. The rest of us will muddle through without you, somehow.”

Shepard smiles as she leaves. It’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to her in weeks.


End file.
